The present invention relates to a terminal apparatus capable of selectively accommodating illustratively either a copyright-compliant or copyright-noncompliant memory.
Today, there is a widespread practice of people gaining access through their PCs (personal computers) to desired servers on the WWW (Word Wide Web) network in order to download from there compressed digital data such as pieces of music or images to hard discs of the PCs for private entertainment.
Another practice becoming popular today involves furnishing a portable terminal apparatus with a portable memory (e.g., memory card) which incorporates a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory. (A portable terminal apparatus incorporating a fixed nonvolatile memory also applies.) The portable terminal apparatus is connected to the PC via a IEEE 1394-compatible cable or an interface such as RS (Recommended Standard)-232C or USB (Universal Standard Bus). Compressed digital data such as pieces of music and images are transferred or copied from the hard disc drive of the PC to the nonvolatile memory. The portable terminal apparatus accommodating the nonvolatile memory is then carried by users to enjoy recorded music or other contents illustratively in outdoor situations.
There has been a trend where digital data downloaded via the Internet are illegally copied and distributed because copyright controls implemented through encryption and/or authorization are yet to be strictly enforced.
At present, digital data stored in the nonvolatile memories mentioned above are not encrypted. It has been concerned that illegal copies can drown the legitimate market by way of systems using the above-described portable terminal apparatus.
With a view to enforcing stricter copyright controls, nonvolatile memories incorporating a signal processing circuit for authorization and encryption have been proposed. The memories thus developed are copyright-compliant nonvolatile memories (copyright-compliant memory cards).
When the proposed copyright-compliant nonvolatile memories are promoted for widespread use, it is necessary to distinguish them clearly from the currently employed copyright-noncompliant nonvolatile memories so that users may selectively utilize one or the other type of memories depending on the situation.
Meanwhile, compatibility with existing portable devices requires that the copyright-compliant nonvolatile memories must not have an external shape different from that of the conventional nonvolatile memories. In other words, both the copyright-noncompliant and the copyright-compliant nonvolatile memories have the same shape so as to be accommodated into portable terminal apparatuses.
The copyright-noncompliant nonvolatile memories are used illustratively to record what may be called copyright-free digital data such as privately recorded voice and images of conference proceedings.
On the other hand, the copyright-compliant nonvolatile memories are used to record digital data (e.g., pieces of music) from existing storage media such as CD (compact disc) and MD (mini-disc). With these memories, illegal copies of copyright-protected data are prevented through encryption or by a suitable authorization process.
For copyright protection, the copyright-compliant nonvolatile memories must incorporate a signal processing circuit for authorization or encryption, a feature not included in the copyright-noncompliant nonvolatile memories.
There are two major types of terminal apparatuses. One type of portable terminal apparatus is capable of recording primarily conference proceedings (microphone input-dedicated terminal apparatus), and another type of portable terminal apparatus can download encrypted digital data (e.g., music data) from the PC or like sources (line input-dedicated terminal apparatus).
A third type of portable terminal apparatus is conceivable, one that is capable both of recording conference proceedings and like dictations and of downloading digital data such as music data (microphone input/line input-compatible terminal apparatus).
In this specification, the term “microphone input” refers to the input of analog audio signals through a microphone that may be either connected to the portable terminal apparatus or incorporated in the apparatus. The term “line input” signifies the input illustratively of digital audio data through an optical cable or of other data through a cable that complies with USB, IEEE 1394, RS232C or other standards.
The microphone input-dedicated terminal apparatus should be loaded with a copyright-noncompliant nonvolatile memory, while the line input-dedicated terminal apparatus for downloading data from the PC or the like should have a copyright-compliant nonvolatile memory inserted therein.
In addition, the microphone input/line input-compatible terminal apparatus should be furnished selectively with either a copyright-compliant or with a copyright-noncompliant memory depending on the intended use, i.e., microphone or line input recording.
As mentioned above, the copyright-noncompliant and -compliant nonvolatile memories both have substantially the same shape, which makes it difficult for general users to distinguish the two types of memories. In addition, not all users are aware of which portable terminal apparatus is supposed to be compatible with which type of nonvolatile memory.
Inadvertent loading of an inappropriate type of nonvolatile memory into the portable terminal apparatus is bound to occur frequently, given the difficulty of distinguishing the different types of nonvolatile memories, lack of understanding on the part of users about compatibility between portable terminal apparatuses and nonvolatile memories, and unrealistic expectations that users will always employ an appropriate type of memory depending on the situation of utilization. Use of an improper type of memory can entail inadequate recording or reproduction of data by the portable terminal apparatus.
Such inappropriate execution of recording or reproduction will lead to inadequate implementation of copyright protection.
In particular, the microphone input/line input-compatible terminal apparatus equipped with a copyright-noncompliant nonvolatile memory will pose a problem when a user completes a required billing process before downloading data over a network for recording purposes. In that case, the terminal apparatus inhibits data recording to the copyright-noncompliant nonvolatile memory while contents to be recorded are being distributed over the network. That is, the user cannot get the distributed contents recorded by operation of the apparatus, or leaves the apparatus to take care of the recording of downloaded data, only to find later that the recording has not been made. Once the user completes the billing process, the relevant contents are transmitted to the user from a server over the network without interruption. Although the user has already paid for the contents, the data cannot be recorded when transmitted continuously because of memory incompatibility.